Scars of Haden
by Void Reader
Summary: Ever believed that if you died once, you will go to Hell? Well, there are those... who have been to Hell. After escaping from Haden Academy, a team of unnatural and scarred youths will fight together for a common goal, to destroy their sworn enemies. Watch as they live their new, free lives as they meet new friends, and encounter dangerous adversaries. Fight through Hell, and live.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 1: The Night Of Hell

In the night sky, there were no stars to be found as they were all hidden behind the clouds. A full moon shone brightly, illuminating the darkness of the sky. But on this very night, it was not just the moon that lit up the dark. The pure, night skies have tainted. Flickering through the darkness, a great amount of debris was ignited in flames, burning whatever remains of the site. The debris was nothing but a pile of broken wooden boards that looked like they were smashed apart, wooden beams collapsed in the rubble, walls that collapsed or had giant holes in them, and most of the roof destroyed, that almost nothing reminded. The damage appeared to be that something attacked the once-stood-building. There were beds, broken toys and books burning in the fire, which indicated that this was a home for whoever lived here. However, whoever _did_ live in this house, that was now the remains of one, won't be shock by this.

The real shocker of this mess is the splats and pools of blood that partly painted the debris. And more horrify, the litter of hands, legs, any sort of limb, were scattered in any place of the ablaze in the site. Anyone would think that there were no such survivors in such a terrify accident, but that is because they won't find them by morning.

In the sea of flames, stood a small figure, which appeared to be a child, its appearance was silhouetted in the raging flames. Standing before the child was some scattered body parts in a pool of blood that surrounded him and the severed limbs. The shadowed child then dropped on its knees than fell onto it's, what appeared to be, paws. Drops of water dripped onto the floor and the child's paws. They were coming from the child's face. The child was crying. Tears were leaking from the kid's shut eyes. They were closed tightly and clutching. The river of tears didn't want to stop. The child's voice was strained as the sound of sobbing continued.

"…I'm sorry." The child at last spoke and the voice indicated that the preteen was a boy.

"I'm so sorry." The lad continued to speak while crying as if he was apologizing to someone.

"I'm sorry. Tommy, Lucas, Lily, John, Dennis, I failed you all. I'm sorry." He went back to crying in pain and despair. All hope was lost to the young boy; everything around him is now but hell. He was now trapped in hell and had no way to escape his pain and sorrow. This was where his life will now end as he will cry out all of his tears if it meant he can be relieved of his pain.

"Get up." All of the sudden, a deep voice boomed through the air. The boy not knowing who or where that voice came from but didn't care and continued sobbing till his life ends.

"Get up." He heard the voice again and it sounded like it was a little louder. This time, he weakly lifted his head to see where the voice was coming from. He looked around but saw nothing but the flames and blood around him.

"GET UP!" The voice boomed louder and it sounded like it was coming from in front of the young boy. He looked to see within the flames, was a tall figure just walking through them like they were not harming the unknown silhouette. The shadowed figure stopped a little distance in front of the crying kid and spoke,

"Do you wish, to live?" The figure sounded like a man as he looked down upon the child who's on his fours. The boy couldn't do anything except looked up to the unknown man's face as it is shadowed by the ever raging inferno surrounding them.

"Do you wish, for power?" The man asked. The boy's mind was taking all he heard and was wondering what the mysterious man was talking about.

"Do you wish, for vengeance?" That question caught the boy's attention to wondered even more of what he was asking.

"Do you wish, to destroy all of those who have taken everything and everyone away from you?" The boy's eyes widen as he remembered all that happened tonight as they flashed through his mind. The very thoughts he was having got the child's paws to clutch into a fist. Slowly, the boy's left foot move to step up and his right arm to pushed him up. The boy was being offered power. He was being offered a chance. He was being offered the chance to destroy the ones who dragged him into hell. The boy slowly got onto his feet and pushed himself up to stood tall and faced the man with a look of hatred in his eyes. His eyes had a gleam of red light in them; his eyes were filled with hatred and hunger for power. The man liked the look in the lad's eyes.

"Then come with me." He said to boy.

"All of you, come with me." The man waved his left arm and the flames on his left side were pushed away to reveal six other figures, shadowed in the flames, which they appeared to be the same height as the boy before the mysterious man.

The boy was shocked, than relieved to see others that he seemed to know are with him. The man spread his arms wide as the flames began to dance more ferociously.

"Come with me. To where hell will grant you the power to survive. Come, to Haden Academy!"

 _3 years later…_

It was a night where silence roamed the land. The silence was believed to last. But the night became the event where everything will begin. The Begins Night.

RRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG! An alarm rang throughout an unknown structure. It looked like a tall fortress with tall, thick walls surrounding the citadel. The place gives the impression of a prison, but much more lies within its walls. Search lights shone through the darkness of the night and moved about like they were searching for something. Or someone, this could've meant that this was an escape alarm.

Seven shadowy figures ran in the darkness, avoiding the search lights that threaten to expose them. The silhouettes moved swiftly and quietly across the walls of the citadel, and leaped over the rooftops of the fortress. They stopped when a squad of guards were coming their way and hid behind the wall. The one in front of the seven gave a hand signal to his comrades and everybody nodded. When the guards came around the corner, sounds of punching were made and the shadowy seven came out of the corner running, and one guard dropped onto the floor from the wall which meant the guards unconscious. The escapees leaped onto the ground and were now running towards a large wall. One of the running shadows pulled out some sort hand held detonator and quickly pressed the bottom with his thumb.

An explosion occurred at one of the walls and the speakers started to sound. "Explosion at Wall Beta! All personal, head to Wall Beta immediately! I repeat, explosion at Wall Beta! All personal, head to Wall Beta immediately!" All the guards heard the announcement and began heading towards said Wall Beta. The guards arrived to find a large hole in the wall with smoking scorch marks. They went through the hole towards the outsides to look for the escapees. As more guards arrived, another explosion occurred at the opposite wall the guards were at. The speakers boomed again.

"Explosion at Wall Gamma! Wall Beta was a diversion! All personal head to Wall Gamma immediately!" The guards now headed towards Wall Gamma at a quicker pace. When the guards arrived at the explosion site, they found the large hole in the wall was blocked off by a large amount of rock, covering the escape route out.

"Get all firearms ready! Blast through the blockade and find those escapees!" One of the guards called out to the others and they got busy to destroying the sealed off wall.

As the chaos played on the grounds, up in the citadel, looking down on the top roof, stood a tall figure smirking. With his arms behind his back, he looked out to the horizon where the escapees went and said,

"Foolish attempts. They can fight through hell all they want, but in the end, the days of reckoning are nearing."

 _2 years later…_

Feeling a small shed of light piercing through his eyelids, he slowly opens them to see a light shining through his window shades. He groaned and tried to block out the light shining at his eyes, but then heard knocking and turned his head to his door.

"Oi! Hurry and get up you useless dolt!" A voice came through the door and it sounded annoyed. He must have been trying to wake the 'dolt' up for a while. Feeling he can't doze off anytime soon, he stretched and yawned to get his body running. He sat up from his bed and looked around his room in thought. His bedroom consisted nothing more than his bed by the window, a wardrobe across his bed, a mirror and counter with two photo frames on top.

" _It has been a long time since I had that dream. Sometimes I wonder, what if they… what if he…"_ He began thinking back to the time he and the other survivors spent at there, that lead them to where they are now. The memories were implanted into their minds; never will they forget that place, or the night they lost everything. He quickly shook his head, feeling he was thinking for too long.

" _No. It doesn't matter. Right now, we have each other, a new home, and a new mission."_ With a nod, he got out of bed and head towards his wardrobe. He was wearing nothing but his PJ pants for pajamas. He opens his cupboard and picked out his favorite attire. After changing, he closed the wardrobe doors and went to check himself in the mirror next to the cupboard. The mirror was just as tall as he was and revealed in its reflection, was a yellow fur mouse with red circle cheeks, long pointy, black tipped ears, a zigzag tail in the shape of a lightning bolt and the most striking feature about him is the easily seen, sharp, pointy teeth in his mouth. He was a Pikachu. His clothes were a red shirt, dark grey pants and an unbuttoned black, long-sleeve over shirt with yellow outlining on the collar and two yellow stripes that run down the shoulders and arms and on his right chest is a lightning bolt crest. Seeing he was dressed and ready, he walked towards his bedroom door and opened up to begin his day.

This is a story of a young Pokémon who will live through his life and will fight through hell as his heart carries scars of his past. Deep and painful scars that will never be heal. His name, is Marrick Fangstar.


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 2: My name is Marrick Fangstar

This was going to be another fine morning for him. A new day means another chance at life. A life that he once believed to have been out of reaches since… that day. But because of his decision, he was here right now. Ready to take on the day whatever it may dish out at him. Opening the door of his bedroom, the morning Pikachu came out and was 'greeted' by a special morning greet.

"Good MORNING, Marrick!" Popping right in front of his face was the face of a smiling pink sheep with curly wool on her head. It was the face of a Pokémon named Flaaffy. Marrick smiled back at her for this seem to be normal for the yellow mouse.

"Morning to you too, Tesla." He greeted back.

"Nope! Your forgetting something else to saaay~!" The Flaaffy named Tesla sang. Marrick was confused at first but realized what she meant and said,

"Good morning to you too." He repeated himself. Tesla smiled and giggled and skipped away. Marrick smiled at Tesla's antics. For as long as he can remember, Tesla has always been the cheerful one. She never got upset or scared by anything. And she just loves to share that cheerfulness with others around her. Her quirkiness made Tesla the prime example of perfect happiness. He looked towards the joyous Flaaffy who was skipping around. She was wearing her purple shirt, an unzipped, blue down jacket and a light-pink skirt that reaches down to her knees. And for those of you who don't know for further on, Tesla wore a pair of black shorts under her skirt. Recommended by a certain someone.

"About time you got up, dozy." A voice sounded in a rude tone. Marrick turned his head to see a red lizard Pokémon with a flame at his tail tip, sitting on a couch. This was a Charmeleon and he was wearing a crimson shirt, black pants and an unzipped grey hoodie. The Charmeleon was sitting on a couch with a laptop on his lap and judging from his rude voice and earlier comment, he was the one who knocked and called through Marrick's door. Marrick narrowed his eyes and said,

"I thought I was called a dolt?" The red lizard scoffed,

"You're both." He answered. Marrick growled for a moment but then smiled at the rude Charmeleon.

"Morning, Ash." He greeted with a kind voice. Ash closed his eyes and huffed with acknowledgement. Ash, as you can see, was not the first Pokémon that you call, polite. He would off-handily say something that will get under your skin quickly. But he is actually one of those early geniuses. No one had the smarts to outwit him. Ash had the calculative skills of a mathematician and the brilliance of an inventor. But even with all of those skills that could have been used to gained fame and glory, he preferred to be kept to himself and used them for his and his friend's benefits. Tesla then hopped onto the couch and hugged Ash's side.

"Feeling good today, Ash?" She asked with the same cheeriness. Ash just merely signed.

"Yes, Tesla. Now would you mind, I need to focus on my work." Tesla nodded and nuzzled her head on Ash's shoulder.

As you can see, Tesla has a huge crush on Ash. Not that Ash knows of, for she was more like a sister to him. But for anyone else, it was as clear as day. Tesla had never showed any means to hide her emotions, so her affection would never be subtle. While Ash was oblivious to this, Tesla would still keep on trying to get him to notice her feelings. Marrick chuckled at the hopeless 'couple' when a stuttering voice called to him.

"H-Hey, Marrick. G-Good m-morning." Marrick turned behind him to find an otter with a white, round head with dark-blue, triangular ears and white stubby arms. The Pokémon that Marrick was facing was an Oshawott and he was wearing a yellow shirt, indigo colored pants and an unzipped, dark-blue down vest. His specie's famous scalchop is placed on his shirt, on his belly. Marrick smiled and greeted,

"Morning, Bolten." Bolten was a very nervous wreck and stuttered his words most of the time. But he was kind at heart and never let his nervousness got the better of him. Bolten nodded to Marrick and then looked around like he was trying to find something.

"U-Umm. Y-You know where… K-K-Katherine is now?" He asked. Marrick shook his head.

"Sorry, just woke up so, no."

"…Oh." Bolten looked down but then Ash spoke up.

"If you're looking for her, she's in the shower right now." He answered as Tesla was still snuggling him. Bolten then tensed up and blushed at those words. Marrick smiled slyly and snickered as he placed his arm around Bolten's neck.

"You know, if you really want, you can go greet her before she comes out?" Marrick suggested. That got Bolten to blushed brighter red and he quickly shook his head.

"N-N-N-No way! S-S-She will hate me and kill me if I did that!" Bolten retorted.

"Did what?" Another voice, which sounded quiet and female, came from a hallway. They turned to see coming out of that hallway, was a green, slender snake Pokémon who has two yellow curves resembling leaves protruding from her shoulders bended backwards, green, slender arms with three fingers, tiny feet and a large palmate leaf with three prongs on the end of her tail. She was a Snivy. She was wearing a short-sleeved, white sailor outfit that has blue, white striped sailor-style collar and sleeve-ends and a blue pleated skirt. She also wore a red long ribbon around her neck like a tie. This Snivy was the Katherine that Bolten was talking about. Like all Snivies, she was calm and collected, but she never actually smiled most of the time. She gave off a cold, distant aura and usually keeps to herself. She also doesn't talk much, so she usually speaks quietly and says a few words. Her scales gave off a shine due to her just taking a bath. Bolten blushed and stared at her in awe of her beauty. Katherine tilted her head in confusion and quietly asked,

"What's wrong?" Bolten realized that he had been staring and quickly shook his head.

"N-N-N-N-N-Nothing!" He fiddled his paws together and looked down, feeling nervous again. You see, Bolten had a huge crush on Katherine and didn't knew how to tell her. Whenever she and Bolten were together, he would get nervous, more than usual, and flustered by anything. He knew he liked her a lot but just couldn't work up the courage to ask her out. Even though his friends tried to help him figure out her feelings for him, without letting Katherine knew of his feelings, her answer would be 'He's a good friend'. Much as it was a disappointment to Bolten, he still liked her and still tries to ask her out. Despite he's many failed attempts. He was nervously trying to find the words to talk to her as Katherine was patient enough to have waited him. He meekly lifted his head to face her, only to felt more nervous at the sight of her face looking at him.

"U-U-Uh. U-um… K-Katherine… U-um…" He was starting to lose confidence and the ability to look at her. Katherine however, still wanted to hear what he had wanted to say.

"Yes?" She asked. Bolten saw that she was waiting and gathered some more courage to at last said,

"G-G-Good morning." He pushed out. Katherine looked at him puzzled for that was all he wanted to say. But nevertheless, smiled.

"Good morning." Bolten lighten up seeing her smile. Katherine never smiles, but only does when she sees someone who had kindness and courage. That and her friends are the only ones she would ever smile to occasionally.

Marrick lightly laughed at this and turned to look around his home. He was in the living room, which was spacious, with a dining table, three couches, two of them at the sides of the walls opposite to each other with one in the center of the room, a big flat-screen TV on the wall in front of the middle couch, and a wall of window-glass which took up half of the living's wall, beside the half the TV was hanging on. The walls were white as well as the tiled floor. The apartment gave the look of a penthouse. This home was indeed quite expensive, but they managed to secure it as their home. He looked into the kitchen room, which was connected to the living room, to see a jackal-like Pokémon mixing some sort of drink in a container. The canine was a Riolu. But unlike other Riolus, this one's color is different, even as a shiny. His normal blue fur was dark-blue, the black was now purple, and his red eyes were yellow. The odd-colored Riolu was wearing an orange T-shirt, dark-brown shorts and an unbuttoned, green, short-sleeve over shirt. Marrick walked over to the front of the counter which the Riolu was behind of.

"Good morning, Nick. What are you making?" He asked. Nick looked up to Marrick and answered,

"Just tea for Lil Am." He just finished pouring said tea into a teacup on a saucer. Nick then picked up the saucer and carried the teacup around the counter and to a couch in the living room. He placed them on a low coffee table in front of a sitting quadruped fox-like Pokémon who has pale-yellow fur, dark orange fur covering the insides of its large ears and a white muzzle with longer fur on its cheeks. This Pokémon was a Fennekin and her eyes were currently closed. The fox Pokémon wore a white long, frilly gown that had pink frills, and has a pink star-shape earring on her left ear. Her fluffy, dark orange tipped tail comes out from a tail hole in her gown. The Fennekin's outfit made her looked like a princess or wealthy lady. The well-dressed fox picked up her saucer with her paws and breathed in the tea's aroma. After diligently breathing out, she gripped the handle of the cup and brought it to her mouth to drink her tea. After a few sips, she placed her cup back on the saucer and turned to faced Nick.

"My favorite as always. Thank you, brother dear." She said in a refined, graceful voice.

Nick smiled at the Fennekin's satisfaction. "Hold on, I'll go get your bread sticks too Lil Am." With that said, Nick turned back to the kitchen, leaving Marrick with the sipping fox. Marrick smiled at her.

"Morning, Amber. Still love cinnamon flavored huh?" Amber placed down her cup.

"Lightly peppered, cinnamon flavored, Marrick dear. There is no other that is best." She gracefully answered.

Amber was a pleasant and dignified Fennekin and would probably be mistaken for a wealthy heiress by anyone else. She never dropped her refine air and expression, which is a smooth, smiling face with closed eyes. She addressed everyone around her with 'dear' and always carried a teacup with saucer with her as her favorite time of the day was teatime. She saw Nick as her big brother figure.

Nick, being the oldest, acted as the big brother to everyone in the group. He takes responsibility and was modest, considerate and loyal. He is quite the peacemaker and green boy, but knew when to be assertive at times. He was a hard worker at heart and tried to do his best at everything. He also saw Amber as his little sister and liked to call her, 'Lil Am'. Nick soon returned with a small basket of bread sticks that he knew Amber loved with her tea.

"Here are your bread sticks." He said to Amber. Amber placed down her saucer with the teacup and picked one bread stick. She diligently nibbled her side dish and said,

"Thank you, brother dear. There are delicious as always." She finished her bread stick and picked up her saucer to drink some more tea.

Marrick looked around at his friends, seeing how they were living their day. They all lived under the same roof. They spent their time together with one another. And they all shared the same pain as he did. To him, they were his only family that he's got left. And he would never wish for anything else if it meant losing them. Marrick then let out a yawn that everybody heard. Nick looked to him and asked,

"Had a rough night, Marrick?" Marrick just smiled with a tired expression.

"Nah. Just woke from a bad dream." Marrick's answer had got everyone's attention, as if they knew what he meant.

"It is of that day again?" Nick asked in concern. Marrick reluctantly nodded.

"It's already been five years. But that dream just keeps on reminding me of the choices we made." Everyone understood Marrick's words, for they wished they can just forget of what happened back then. But they knew better than anyone that if they did, then everything that they done, everything that they went through would all be for nothing. Feeling everyone's mood was down; Marrick shook his head and lighten up.

"But nothing to worry, I sure those dreams will just leave me being if I don't think about them too much. Besides, it's nothing that I can't handle." That said, everyone just laughed a little of what Marrick said. Tesla then came to Marrick's side.

"Well no longer fret Marrick! For I got you a dream catcher! Made from Cresselia's Lunar Wings that will scare away those bad dreams of yours!" Tesla said as she brought out said dream catcher.

"That is just a fake made from bended Pidgey feathers painted to look like Lunar Wings." Ash bluntly mentioned. That made Tesla looked down in depression with a dark cloud of depression over her head. Marrick still took the dream catcher though.

"Thanks Tesla. Your sincere thoughts will surely keep my bad dreams away." Marrick said. Tesla returned to being cheerful in an instant after hearing that and went back to snuggling Ash. Marrick shook his head in amusement before he went to the kitchen to get breakfast. He walked up to a fruit basket and took one apple. After taking a bite out of the red fruit, Marrick then left the kitchen and turned to another hallway beside it.

"I'm going out for groceries now, guys. I'll be back by this afternoon." And he left through the hallway which was probably leads the exit door.

* * *

Marrick strolled down the road of the city he and his friends lived in. It was a huge, modern city that had pretty much everything a city Pokémon could ask for. There were lots of tall buildings which were probably working places, different stores and restaurants to visited, and lots of different Pokémon who were going from place to place, always looking busy and bustling about. This was truly the big city for Pokémon. And it was called Zircona City, an urban city in the Zirros Region, that was well-known for its prosperous resources and fiancés. The city even houses many wealthy families who have ties to the many working companies that were stationed there. Back to Marrick, who was now going to the supermarket for his friends' groceries. He was groaning with a grumpy mood on his face.

"Remind me again why you two are tagging along?" Marrick complained. Behind him was Ash and Tesla who were following him. Ash answered him,

"Because we have our own errands to run. And we have to keep an eye on you so that you will not cause any problems." Marrick stopped and turned around to face them.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" He was pissed.

Tesla, while smiling then said, "Because you will do something rash and stupid if we do not keep an eye on you."

Marrick looked offended by that and yelled, "And what do you mean by that?!"

"You got ran over by a group of bikers when you tried to grab a penny on a biker path," Ash commented. An arrow then shot into Marrick's side.

"You got carried away in the back of a truck when you fell off a bridge because you sneezed," Tesla chirped. Another arrow struck Marrick's other side.

"Your foot got stuck in a tree branch when you helped to get a Poliwag kid's kite down, " Ash added. Another into Marrick's head.

"You lost a lottery ticket back in that traveling festival," Tesla pointed. Another in the hide.

"And you still haven't found a job." Both finished simultaneously. Three more points struck Marrick while he grunted in pain and comically dropped on his side.

"Alriiigghht. You don't have to rub it in." He whined while crying tears comically from his eyes.

"So, when is it about time you found a permanent job" Ash asked. You see, in order to live in this town, Marrick and some of his friends looked for part-time jobs to earn some money. Nick was a delivery boy at an electronics production factory, and Bolten gave piano lessons to kids at a music school. And Marrick, well, he was a problem. Marrick couldn't find a job because he gets fired for unfortunate accidents he caused. Like, when he tried to work at a garage, all the cars got broken when he tried to use a car lift. Or when he tried to work at a fire station only to get the place flooded. Or at a restaurant which just caught fire and then got fired. How does this keep happening does, beats me.

Marrick got up from his depression and said, "Just you wait! I will soon find a good job and you won't smack-talking me any longer!"

"If you stick to that job, that is." Ash snarked. Marrick growled while Tesla giggled at his dismay.

They resumed walking and arrived at the supermarket they wanted to shop at. Before they entered, Marrick looked to his side and spotted a flyer that stated 'Staff For Hire'. Marrick smiled and tore the flyer off the glass wall.

"Ha! This is what I call 'ask for lemons, you get lemonade'. You two head on without me, I'm going to land myself onto this job." Marrick told Ash and Tesla and then ran towards to entrance only to slip on a can of beans, flipped into a trolley, and went rolling as a line of trolleys exited from the entrance. Ash watched with a deadpanned face as Tesla, still smiling, but was unamused as well as they watched and listened to the crashing of colliding trolleys.

* * *

As the chaos at the supermarket occurred, we join back at the apartment, where Nick was pouring some more tea for Amber. He was preparing to head out for it was almost time for his shift.

"There's more tea on the kitchen counter next to the stove. And if you ever get hungry, there's cake in the fridge and more bread sticks on the counter table behind you. And-" Before Nick could continue, Amber held his paw with her own.

"Brother dear, I really do appreciate your persistence to tend to me. But, I am more than capable of taking care of my own needs." Amber diligently replied. Nick sheepishly laughed as he brought his paw behind his head.

"Sorry. It's just that, well, you're my Lil' Am. And I do feel obliged to do my best of being your big brother." Amber sipped her tea as she listened. She finished her drink and said,

"I do know of this, brother dear. But please do not forget that I am now 15 years old. I'm a grown girl who can tend to herself." Nick nodded.

"Right, I'll keep that in mind. But do know that you will always be my Lil' Am." Amber gently giggled from hearing that. Bolten then came into the living room, carrying a briefcase.

"I-I will be heading off now. M-My shift s-should be over by f-f-five in the evening." Bolten was about to head for the door when Katherine came in from the hallway.

"Mind if I come along?" She asked quietly. Hearing that made Bolten tensed up with a bright blush on his face.

"Uh-Uh-Uh-Uh-Uh. W-W-W-What d-d-d-did yo-yo-you m-m-m-meant by t-that?" Bolten tried to ask to be sure that he didn't misheard that. Katherine tilted her head at first, but complied.

"Why, to where you work, of cause." The blush on Bolten's grew bigger as if his head is turning red. Nick saw that Bolten needed help, so he shook Bolten' shoulders which snapped him out of his paralysis. Nick leaned close to Bolten's ear and whispered,

"Stay calm and listen. This is your once in a lift time chance to spent some alone time with Katherine. So don't mess this up." Bolten made a quiet yep of the idea and whispered back,

"N-N-No way! I-I-I c-c-c-can barely t-t-t-talk, let a-alone lo-lo-look at her w-when w-we're a-alone! Besides, w-we're only go-going to be a-a-alone for until we re-reach the mu-music school!" Nick sighed at this, which then Amber decided to make her move.

"Katherine dear, if you are really planning to follow Bolten dear to work, than I will be left all alone at home by myself." Amber said gently. Bolten thought that he saw an opening out of his dilemma.

"Th-Th-That's right! Am-Amber would be-" Bolten's words got cut short when Amber added in,

"Please do not worry. I will fine here on my own. Besides, it looks like Bolten dear could use your company for the trip anyway." Bolten found himself stomped for he was caught off guard by that and it didn't helped his case when Katherine started looking closely at him.

"Hmm. Bolten, you do look rather shaky today. Perhaps I really should come along." She said with the same quiet tone. Beads of sweat were rushing down Bolten's head as he couldn't find any excuse to say no nor can he say no to the Snivy of he's dreams. Nick then planted his paws on Bolten's shoulders,

"Well, with that decided, let's get you two on the go or you will be late for work." Nick said as he turned and pushed Bolten towards the door, despite Bolten's protest while Katherine followed from behind. After pushing the freaking out otter out, saying 'have a good day' to him and closing the door, Nick came back in and he and Amber started laughing at what just happened. Nick was the first to calm down and said,

"Looks like Bolten will be having another one of those days, where romantic drama plays it's role again." Amber also calmed down and said,

"Aww. Don't be too hard on him. I am sure Bolten dear will be together with Katherine dear one day. They may not admit it, but they are more closer to each other than any of us are to them." Nick nodded at that and came to sit down on the same couch Amber was sitting. There was silence at first, like they thinking of what else to say. Amber was still sipping her tea; Nick broke the silence with a question.

"Hey, Lil' Am, have you…" Nick paused at first as Amber put down her teacup and turned to him. Nick managed to find his words and continued,

"Have you… ever wondered… about finding someone, like Bolten did?" Amber said nothing at first and just stared at the jacket Pokémon. Nick was beginning to think that he asked something personal until Amber started to giggle lightly. She calmed down and said,

"Funny, I was going ask you the same thing." Nick gasped and soon started to laugh himself. He laughed for a moment, but calmed himself to say,

"Oh. So you were thinking of that? Haha, that is funny." He moved his paws behind his head and looked up while thinking.

"Hmm, well, if I have to say, I guess no. I never really thought about finding something like a girlfriend before. But if I did, I guess it will only be when I find myself being carrying away in the gentle arms of an angle from the heavens." He closed his eyes at that thought. Amber laughed behind her paw which brought Nick attention to her.

"Well, if you say you want to be carried off by an angle, than I guess want to find my prince charming, someone who is strong, but is a gentle soul." Nick chuckled a little and smiled at his little sister's idea of love. While he wanted Amber to remain as his baby sister, he encouraged the thought of Amber finding love one day. Nothing would make him happier than seeing Amber happy. He closed his eyes and said,

"Well then, if you ever find your prince charming, he will be very lucky to have such a beautiful and wonderful girl like you." Nick smiled which made Amber smiled.

"Now then, time for me to head off to work." He said as he jumped off the couch. Nick turned to Amber and asked,

"You're sure you will be alright by yourself?" Amber nodded.

"Yes brother dear, I will. Besides, Marrick dear and the others will be back soon, so I will not be lonely. Just go and find your angle." Nick chuckled and grabbed a bag off the counter.

"While I'm not planning on leaving the Earth too soon, I'm off. Take care while I'm gone, Lil' Am." He said as he left through the door. Amber giggled then sipped her tea again before getting up to pour some more.

"Take care, brother dear. I wonder if my prince charming really is out there." She said as she thought for a love life of her own but shook off the thoughts for they were for another time to think about.

* * *

Back at the supermarket, Ash and Tesla just came out from the glass, sliding doors, carrying bags of groceries that they just bought.

"Well, that takes care of our don't-have-enough-food-for-the-week problem!" Tesla chirped quickly that last part while Ash sweat-dropped at her antics. The cheerful Flaaffy then asked,

"Should we head back home without Marrick, Ash?" The Charmeleon replied,

"Knowing that idiot, we wouldn't need to wait for long, as that knucklehead would get himself fired quickly." Right on cue, the said knucklehead came running out of the doors with a big grin.

"I did it! I got the job!" Marrick exclaimed.

"Looks this so-called knucklehead has beaten your well-planned calculations. Ha!" He boasted as he gripped his over shirt's mid-section while showing a big, toothy grin. Ash huffed at the Pikachu, and then brought up,

"That will only be true if you actually stay on this job." Marrick huffed as he crossed his arms while Tesla bubbly giggled at their tussle. Marrick then said,

"Well, my boss said that my work begins tomorrow morning at 7, so if we're done here, let's go." Ash and Tesla nodded in agreement. The trio turned to leave when,

 _Bang!_

A gunshot, followed by the sound of shattering glass came from inside the supermarket they just came out from. They turned see shoppers and bystanders panicking and they turned and nodded to each other before rushing to see what the commotion was. When they looked through the glass wall, they saw a Poliwrath in a black sweater and pants, pointing a gun at the ceiling, while holding a small Pokémon, which was a shiny Eevee in one of his arms. Everybody in the store was on their knees and arms, except for the cashier. The situation looked like a robbery. The Poliwrath robber pointed his gun at the frighten cashier, who was a Watchog, and demanded,

"Give me all the money or I'll kill this kid, now!" The shiny Eevee was scared and started to cry. This made the robber mad.

"Shut up you brat or else!" He yelled, which made the child cried louder.

Marrick was grinding his teeth while Ash was discussing with Tesla.

"This looks bad, but the police should be able to handle this once they arrive. We just have to make sure the robber doesn't do anything dangerous." He said to Tesla. She then asked,

"But what should we do? We can't just leave that poor girl as a hostage." Ash began to think hard.

"While we can stop the robber, we can't reveal ourselves too much, so we'll have to do this carefully. Hey, Marrick?" Ash turned to face Marrick, but to find the Pikachu missing. Tesla looked surprised.

"Huh? Where did he…?" She asked. They then heard a loud 'thud' from inside the store, and look to see the missing Pikachu, with his fist punching the Poliwrath's skull. The force made the robber let go of his gun and the little Eevee and he was send flying into a wall, while Marrick caught the Eevee from falling. The Poliwrath was smashed deep into the wall and the wall got pushed backwards from the impact. The robber was in shock as he had a fist implant on his head, between the eyes. The damage looked like the skull could have been cracked.

"Wha... what the…?" He wheezed before he fainted. Marrick put the Eevee down and asked,

"You okay kid?" The Eevee looked at him with shimmering eyes before nodding.

"Thank you so much, mister!" She hugged Marrick, then let go to pick up a grocery bag. Marrick looked confused and asked,

"Is that your shopping?" The Eevee nodded,

"Yes, I do my own shopping because I'm a big girl!" She said while stretching her paws out wide. Marrick chuckled before saying,

"I see, in that case, be careful next time squirt." He patted the Eevee's head and she nodded and ran out of the store, just as Ash and Tesla came rushing in.

"Yeesh, I shouldn't have known that you'll just rush in head-first when you saw that. That's a knucklehead for you." Ash snarked. Marrick said back,

"I wasn't gonna let her die like that." Tesla giggled and said,

"That's why you're Marrick, always acting for others before thinking." Ash signed.

"There's got to be a limit to your stupidity." He said. Marrick then said,

"If there is someone being hurt in front of me, then I will never hesitate to reach out to them."

There was nothing but silence for a moment. Nobody said anything before looking to a Loudred in a supermarket uniform, looking really mad at Marrick. He must be the manager. The manager then pointed to the damaged wall as the robber was now on the floor. They knew what was next and Marrick signed as he knew that the store will not be welcoming him back anytime soon, and so braced himself for the two familiar, magic words.

"YOUR FIRED!"


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 3: Bolten and Katherine's day

As the chaos, and Marrick's dilemma, was taking event at the supermarket, Bolten was walking down one of the neighborhood streets that led to the music school he worked at. This would have been one his usual, normal trips to work, if it wasn't for the fact that the most beautiful, gorgeous, and most attractive Snivy of his dreams, was walking alongside him and tagging along to where he worked. Bolten could not believe that this was happening. More likely he was freaking out. Katherine never before offered to follow one of the others to work before, much less, him. Could she have been bored at home? Was she lonely? Or was she now pulling his leg? So many thoughts were scrabbling through his head. He quickly shook them off. He should know better than anyone else that Katherine was not that kind of Pokémon. After all, he, himself spent more time with the snake Pokémon than Marrick and the rest. Even though it was a real nerve-wreck for him, he didn't question such a blessing for her to even approached him. But the atmosphere for him right now was very awkward. Katherine hasn't said a word and the silence was freaking out Bolten more by the minute. Bolten knew that he had to try and at least talk to her, for chances like these don't come along very often. So, after mustering enough courage, he tried to break the ice.

"Umm… K-K-Kathe-r-rine…?" Well, he 'tried'. The mustered courage was running out fast.

"Hmm?" Katherine turned to the mentally panicking Oshawott and the sight of her beautiful face made him panicked more. Bolten was forgetting the words he was trying to say and was beginning to walk stiffly and awkwardly, like a nervous cartoon character.

"Uh… umm… uh… uh…"Bolten needed to find his words or he feared that Katherine might not want to talk to him anymore. Katherine tilted her head in confusion, while keeping her stoic impression, as she wondered why Bolten was acting this way. If only she knew.

"Uh… K-K-Katherine… c-can I-I-I-I-I a-ask y-y-y-y-you someth-th-thing…?" Bolten finally got it out, but now he waits for his crush's reply. He was now trembling as they kept walking. Katherine looked at him for a moment and then nodded, indicating to him that he can ask. Bolten took a deep breath and gathered his words before asking,

"…W-Why ex-exactly a-are y-y-you t-t-t-tagg-g-g-ging a-a-al-al-ong w-with m-m-me?" Katherine stared at him for a moment, which made Bolten's legs feel like jelly, before narrowing her eyes a bit. Bolten held his breath as he thought he may had made her angry, but then the leaf snake sighed before saying,

"Why else, because I wanted your company."

 _Ba-Bump_

Bolten felt like his heart could leap out of his chest. Hearing those words from her had rid all of his previous thoughts of her being mad at him. His face lighted up with a bright, red blush and his walking pace starting to pick up. Katherine thought how weird Bolten was now acting before she said,

"If you're in a hurry, we're almost at the music school." Bolten was still feeling like a love-sick fool before his brain started processing of what Katherine just said. After some clicking in his brain, he snapped out of he's dreaming state and began freaking out.

"Wah! It-It-It-It-It's n-not liked th-th-that! I-I-I mean sure, w-we are close, b-b-but i-it's not like that! Well, I-I mean, what I was d-d-doing just n-now was j-just-"

 _Clang_

As Bolten was panicking through he's words, he failed to noticed the upcoming street light in front of him and, well, you pretty much know what happened next. Face-first, his right paw was twitching as his whole front was in pain from clumsily walking straight into a lamp pole. Katherine stood right next to him, waiting for a response from the Oshawott in pain.

"Bolten, look at where you are going next time." She said monotony before Bolten pulled himself off the street lamp and smiled stupidly to her. Despite his face having a large, thick, red sore mark, where he slammed himself onto.

"N-No worries. N-Now, l-l-let's get g-going before I-I'm late." He said before him waddled around the street lamp and straight forward. But then he turned around and said,

"N-Not that i-it's y-your fault o-o-of course. Hehehe." He laughed weakly and then turned back; face-smacking himself for the poor choice of words, before wincing in pain. Katherine stared at him for a moment before turning to look at the body imprint on the street pole. On the imprint, was the face-print of an Oshawott with his eyes closed and mouth opened. Katherine let out a small giggle while covering her mouth with the side of her clenched hand. She had to admitted, it was pretty funny. Of course, she wouldn't want to hurt Bolten's feelings for he was kind of a sensitive guy as he had low self-esteem in himself. She quickly went after him, not wanting to be left behind.

* * *

It wasn't long until they reached the music school. It was a plain, white, three-story building, with a blue roof and a low wall that surrounded it with a gate for entry. It was the only music school in Zicorna City, so it was well-funded for students to be given the best music lessons. Bolten worked as a part-time tutor because he once played a piano in an instrument store and a teacher from the school just happened to have been listening to his performance. So he immediately requested if he would be kind enough to give lessons, while being well-paid of course. Bolten accepted for he just loves the piano and he would love to teach others how to play his favorite instrument too. Right now, Bolten and Katherine were on the third floor, walking down the hallway and then stopping in front of a door that had a sign saying: Piano Lessons. Bolten turned to Katherine saying,

"Th-This is t-t-the c-classroom that I-I teach at." He opened up the door and led her in. The classroom was spacious, but not as much as their apartment, the walls were light-blue and it had a wooden floor. There was obviously a piano around the center of the room with a large, light-green carpet underneath it. Katherine made herself comfortable by leaning her back against the wall that the piano was facing.

"Hmm, nice place. Must be fun to teach in here." She said. Bolten scratched behind his head sheepishly before hearing a knock on the door. It opened and a Lilligant came in, who was wearing a white, linen shirt, bringing with her a Sandshrew, wearing a red sweater and brown pants.

"Mr Bolten, Andy is ready to take his lesson." The Lilligant informed the otter. Bolten nodded,

"Th-Thank you, Ms Talia." The Lilligant nodded back and left through the door before closing. Bolten bended down to face his student and said,

"O-Okay, Andy, sh-shall we continue from w-where we left off?" Andy nodded before turning to face the new stranger in the room.

"Who is that?" Andy asked. Bolten looked to the Snivy and she nodded, indicating to him that it was okay to introduce her.

"T-That's Katherine. M-My friend." The Sandshrew looked in between Bolten and Katherine before asking him,

"Is she your girlfriend?" Bolten jumped as he began to blush. He flailed his arms while saying,

"W-What?! No! N-Not e-exact-ly!" He looked to see Katherine turning her head away with a 'humph'. Bolten paled (like in an anime, when you become white from shock) and looked like he was cracking up. The young Sandshrew looked at the white, frozen stiff Oshawott, waiting for a response. Eventually, he got tired of waiting and shook him.

"Umm… Mr Bolten, can we now begin the lesson?" He asked cutely. Bolten stayed white for a few more seconds before returning back to his usual color.

"Oh, r-right, s-sure, let's be-begin." He guided the student to the piano and the sand mouse made himself comfortable on the leather, black bench as his tutor stood beside him. Bolten laid down his briefcase and opened it to take out a few music sheets, and placed them on the piano stand in front of Andy.

"Okay, let's go over what I taught you yesterday." Bolten began. While Bolten was revising the Sandshrew, Katherine continued to stand against the wall, thinking of how Bolten freaked out earlier. She seen the otter Pokémon flustered in nervousness before, but when the young Sandshrew brought up the question, if she was he's girlfriend, he panicked more than usual. The question also had an impact on her, shocked by the innocent curiosity by the little kid on how _did_ it looked like if she was he's girlfriend. She actually found herself holding her breath, and she just happened to turned her head away when Bolten looked at her while letting out a big huff. Bolten sure got confused big time by her exhalation. She didn't even knew how much miscommunication her action caused the poor otter either. She then gotten drawn out of her thoughts when she heard some piano chords finishing and looked to see Andy just finished his song.

"V-Very good, Andy. Yo-You're making gr-great progress. Now, a-a-as a treat, I-I'm going to p-play you a song, o-o-okay?" Bolten said. The sand mouse smiled and nodded as he liked Bolten's songs. He quickly hopped off the seat for Bolten to sit down. The otter stretched his paws, cracking them, laid them each on one key. He took a deep breath and his paws began to work magic. He started playing the piano song, 'Snow Halation'. Andy watched in awe as Bolten played beautifully and splendidly. Katherine watched too and smiled. It always amazed her how Bolten plays the piano with the talent of a pro. Bolten kept playing each key with skill. The swiftness and well-timing of his paws made the most harmonious sound you could've never dream of. Bolten could even beat a professional at the piano, but he just loves the piano and playing lots of songs on it. This was just merely pure passion being at work. He kept playing for a while until the last verse and breathed out. As he finished, loud clapping and cheering spooked him out of his skin. He turned around to find an audience of young Pokémon, plus Andy, were sitting behind him, and they were all giving him a round of applause. They were all his students he was going to teach. Ms Talia was also watching as she was standing next to the now, opened door. Bolten calmed down to best of his ability and try to asked,

"Wh…wh-what are y-you all d-d-doing in h-here? Th-Th-The next c-class i-isn't for a-a-a-another few mi-minutes." Ms Talia then giggled before explaining,

"Well you see, we were all waiting for you outside until we heard you playing on your piano. The music gotten children excited and they all begged me to let them in so they can see you play." Bolten sheepishly scratched the behind of his head as he had a habit of not paying attention to his surroundings whenever he played the piano. A young male Nidoran raised his paw.

"Play again, Mr Bolten!" He asked excitedly. All the students started cheering for an encore. Ms Talia raised her leaf hand.

"Now little ones, Mr Bolten needs to get back to teaching all of you one by one, so you cannot be bothering him." She told the class.

"Aww!" The students pouted. Bolten chuckled at this before saying,

"Okay, t-then how a-a-about this? I-I-I g-give the w-whole class a-a free p-performance, wh-which you w-will all take down notes o-o-of how a pr-pr-pro will pl-play, s-sounds good?" The class cheered, Bolten looked to the Lilligant to see if it was okay, which she just nodded. That got the otter to turn back to his instrument and play the piano song, 'Aishiteru Banzai!'. The class kept cheering as he played. Katherine watched in amusement as she knew that Bolten can be very clumsy, and he would to try to make up for such mistakes. The grass snake leaned back her head as she took the sound of Bolten's piano into her ears. For some reason, this song was really appealing to her. Listening to his music would always made her feel calm and at peace. It was pretty much one of the reasons she wanted to come to his working place. She knew she would get to hear him playing the piano and she wanted to have front row seats for it. She began digging into her thoughts as she thought about Bolten, of how he had a certain charisma, where he could just be friends with anyone. Bolten was always a kind soul. He would help old ladies cross the street, or bring a lost wallet to the police office. That would lead to strangers becoming familiar with him and being drawn to his character. Katherine actually had always admired that about him, which she would never admitted out loud. She continued watching Bolten entertaining the class while teaching them about the instrument his loves.

* * *

It was now close to the evening, and Bolten's shift just ended. Right now, Bolten and Katherine just finished saying goodbye to the students and left the school. They were now walking down the same road they used earlier and they hadn't spoken a word since they left. Finding that they were all alone again, Bolten was feeling nervous again, but he wanted to ask her something. After a moment of awkward silence, Bolten began to asked,

"U-Um… Katherine…?" After he called, the snake Pokémon turned to look at the even more nervous otter Pokémon. Bolten felt like he got a frog in his throat, but tried to push the words out.

"Um… d-did y-y-y-you… um… e-enjoyed o-our day at t-t-the... school…?" He asked. Katherine just looked at him like she was seeing right through him, which kind of scared the otter. But then she did something she rarely does, she smiled.

"Yes, I did." She said quietly as usual. Bolten was relieved and also smiled as he loved seeing her smile. Even though she just smiles mostly around him, he never noticed how she acted differently only around him than others.

"R-Really? Y-you did? W-Well, I'm gl-glad you d-did." He stuttered. Katherine closed her eyes before she said,

"Of course I did. After all, I spent the day with you." What she had said made Bolten's face lit up as he felt his head burning up.

"Wh…wh…wh…what d-d-do you m-m-m-mean by th-th-th-that?" He shakily asked. Katherine merely answered,

"Why, because being around you makes feel safe." That disappointed the Oshawott as he knew what she meant by that. Katherine continued,

"Being around you was always a nice feeling that I'll have, for you always seen to try and make me happy and I really appreciate that. Your music would always take me for a pleasant ride, and watching you have such fun, playing with your passion with such focus, and seeing you lose your focus to your piano always looked funny." Bolten blushed at what she said at that last part.

"What I'm saying is, you have been good company to me, and I'm glad I have such a kind and gentle friend like you." She finished and smiled at him. Bolten thought that she was glowing as she smiled sincerely at him. That smile of hers was what Bolten loved her for, but now that very same smile was rarely seen. Bolten smiled back nonetheless. It was not the answer he was hoping for, but at least he knew of that Katherine thought of him as a great friend, which was good enough for him and to work up from. He picked up his pace and stood in front of her. He then said,

"L-Let's hurry back h-home, s-s-so I-I can pl-pl-play some more of m-m-my piano for y-y-y-you t-tomorrow." He suggested. Katherine looked at him before smiling.

"Sure, thank you, Bolten." She said. Bolten's goofy smile grew bigger and he started running ahead. Katherine looked at him in amusement before running after him.

* * *

When Bolten and Katherine came into the living room, they found Marrick on his knees and his face lying flat on the coffee table. He was groaning. They turned to Ash, who was sitting on the right couch with his laptop in his lap, with Tesla, who was snuggling his arm, and he told them,

"Yep, he got fired." Marrick moaned louder. Bolten and Katherine now deadpanned.

"W-Well that was t-t-to be ex-expected." Bolten remarked. An arrow point came out of nowhere and struck the face-planted Pikachu in the back. He grunted in pain.

"He really is hopeless." Katherine remarked too. Another arrow shot at Marrick's back, making him grunt again.

"Marrick dear, you must learn how to be a proper man." Amber, who was on the middle couch, added her comment and again, another arrow shot, making him grunt some more from the pain of emotional remarking. And there were all true. After Bolten and Katherine came in and sat on the left couch, Nick returned from work and saw the current state that Marrick's in.

"What did I miss?" The canine asked. Tesla quickly gave him the short version.

"He saw a thug robbing a store, who was holding a little girl hostage, and then Marrick went 'whoosh' and punched that no good Poliwrath in the face and sent him flying into the wall, which it got damaged from the insanely powerful force it had, which is why he got fired!" Nick sighed before walking in.

"Marrick, you need to stop putting your jobs at risk whenever you pick a fight. Your self-control is just as bad as your sense of direction." Nick said which Marrick got the _point_ one more time and wailed in pain. Bolten then said,

"I-It's getting l-l-late, a-anyone want di-dinner?" Hearing that, Marrick got up from his depths of misery and grinned.

"In that case, leave the cooking to yours truly." Marrick said. He marched into the kitchen while the others, except Ash, went to get seated at their dining table. Marrick was frying and tossing some rice and egg in a frying pan and was adding chopped berries, meat, and shredded lettuce into the mix. The oven went 'ding' and he took out a large, cooked turkey and set it on the counter before pouring the rice mix into seven plates. Once all was ready, he arrived in the living carrying two plates on each of his arms, one on the head, and two on the tail. He went around the table, placing down the dishes from his arms onto the table while the plates on his tail were collected by Nick. They all thanked Marrick before he left and returned with seven glasses of water, the tray of turkey and a basket of fruit.

"Ash, food's ready!" Marrick called for the red lizard and the Charmeleon soon joined them at his chair next to Tesla. Once Marrick got seated, they all dig in to their food. They all sounded with delight.

"Mmmm, Marrick, this fried rice is amazing!" Tesla cheered.

"This is really delicious like always." Nick added.

"As always, your meals are absolutely delectable." Amber graciously commented. Marrick grinned cockily while scratching behind his head.

"Th-This is s-so good. H-How can y-your c-cooking be n-not as bad a-a-as what you u-usually do?" Bolten asked. That made Marrick face-planted off his chair, and Bolten covered his mouth for realizing what he just said.

"That's true." Katherine said quietly.

"That's simple; this is his only productive talent." Ash smirked. Marrick quickly got back onto his chair and angrily yelled,

"What was that?! Either you shut up or you will not lay a claw on the turkey!" Nick quickly intervened.

"Now, now, let's not start something or our food will turn cold." Ash merely huffed and resumed eating. Marrick growled and ate, shoving his fried rice into his mouth quickly, while everyone else laughed.

As everybody enjoyed their dinner, they talked about what they did today. The robbery that Marrick stopped, and got fired, Bolten's lesson which turned into a concert, and any other stuff they did today. Marrick looked across the table as he saw how happy everyone was and that they managed to get this far in their lives.

" _We have made it this far, but what else could possibly make this life even more better?"_ He thought. Marrick shrugged it off though and kept on eating.

" _Oh well, I'm sure we will find out one day. But for now, I'm just happy we're all here as one family._ "He looked out of the large, glass window-wall and looked at the night, starry sky, thinking thoughts for their future.

" _No matter where we are, we are always in Hell. Which is why…"_ Marrick narrowed his eyes before thinking,

" _...We will fight through it, for our future."_

* * *

 **I do not own the following songs:**

 **Snow Halation Piano by Hata Aki/Tamada Takahiro.  
**

 **Aishiteru Banzai! Piano by Maki Nishikino. From Love Live!**


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 4: The life of Melody

Many Pokémon would say that the best way to start off a good morning is by either, eating a good, balanced breakfast, stretching your arms and legs awake, giving your neighbor a friendly hello, beating up an gang of thugs, watching your favorite morning shows or-wait, WHAT?! In another part of the city, the sound of punching and kicking echoed throughout an alleyway of a rundown part of town, where a lot of old, brick buildings, broken street lamps and trash, cluttered streets made up the place. These streets were used to be originally part of Zircona City before the town become prosperous. But over time, as the city expanded, some parts of the city were left forgotten and barred off from the public, and so they were left to rot. Thus, it became the ideal location for the street gangs and crooks of the city to come and hang out, away from cops, as they never came down there anymore. It also was the perfect location to find any tough roughnecks to rubble with.

The sounds of punching, kicking, wails of pain and bone breaking, and big, brutal looking Pokémon being thrown out of the alley eventually came to a stop and slowly coming out of the dark alley was a small, bipedal, rabbit with brown, long ears, with its left ear curled up, that had a light tan of fluff on both of its tips, a pink triangular nose and small tan spots above its eyes. It had a smooth chocolate colored pelt on the upper half of its body and light tan feet and fleece of fluff that covers much of its lower body. It was a Pokémon called Buneary, and it was wearing a white polo shirt, a black skirt and a red gem, silver chain bracelet on her left paw. The little rabbit was panting and sweating out of exhaustion as she hopped her way out of the alley. However, she did not have so much of a scratch on her, yet she seemed very tired out from whatever went down in that alley. When she made out of the alley, she looked around her to see all the big brutes she'd thrown out, lying on the ground, groaning in pain and unconscious.

"Weak." The Buneary simply said before she hopped away.

* * *

The choco-colored rabbit bounced her way back to the main city, into the shopping district. Many of the Pokémon who see her were quite familiar with her, for she had a reputation for being a tough girl with an attitude to boot. She would pick fights with the street thugs and gangsters who have caused trouble for the city and give them a good thrashing. While everybody else would say that it is an absolute crazy thing to do every day, someone, like this Buneary, will say that it is just a morning workout. As the rabbit kept bouncing down the street, she heard someone calling out her name. It was a familiar voice to her and turned to looked towards the direction of the voice to see a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon that appeared to be wearing a white tutu that had three ruffles on each hip, green, skinny legs with pointed feet and hair that covers most of its face and reaches its shoulders on either side, resembling two ponytails, large, red eyes on either side of the hair that covers its face and a flat, red horn that resembles a hairpin on each side of its head. The Pokémon was called Kirlia, and she wore a magenta, sleeveless linen shirt, a small red tie around her collar, and a brown, vertical, blue-striped skirt that had her ruffles sticking out on each side's end. The Buneary bounced towards the Kirlia, who was waving to her and calling her name.

"Melody! I'm so glad you made it. Where have you been?" The Kirlia asked.

"Oh you know, going to different places and stuff like that." The Buneary named Melody told her. The ballerina Pokémon was obviously not convinced, and she looked at the rabbit from head to toe, seeing that the bunny had been sweating earlier before she arrived, and then realized what she has been doing.

"Oh, I see now." The Kirlia said. Melody chuckled a bit while scratching the back of her head before saying,

"Hehe, you got me, Alicia." The Kirlia named Alicia made a sigh and then said,

"Melody, why can't you see that your so call 'training' is always making me worried sick about you?" You see, because of Melody's reputation with the criminals of the city, Pokémon tried to stay away from her, for they do not want to get involved with her fights. However, Alicia and Melody had been best friends since they were in elementary school, and the Kirlia can pretty much put up with her antics and would try her best to supporting her way. But she would still worry for her safety like any best friend would. The Psychic's best friend merely just waved it off saying,

"And I keep telling you, you have nothing to worry about. Just trust me, those guys are not such a big deal and I have been making sure that I've been safe from those creeps' attacks, just like you said. So just have a little faith in me, I know what I'm doing." She reassured the emotion Pokémon, which she eventually sighed in defeat and said,

"Okay you win, but only if you do not end up getting hurt."

"Deal." Melody agreed. Alicia smiled and grabbed Melody's paw, pulling her in tow as she started running.

"Now come on, we have some shopping to do, like you promised!" Alicia squealed.

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Melody called as she bounced, while Alicia was still pulling her paw, into the crowd.

* * *

The shopping district of Zircona City is always bustling with many shoppers going from store to store, buying whatever they get their hands on. As the respectable and prosperous city as it is, all goods and products that were sold at every store are top of the line and a bargain to buy. Right now, walking down the street were the tough Buneary, Melody and the kind-hearted Kirlia, Alicia, chatting amongst themselves before reaching their destination.

"So Melody, got any ideas on what you're going to buy." Alicia asked.

"No idea, you're always the one who knows more about fashion and junk." Melody answered, which made the Kirlia giggled.

"Which is why I am finally going to get you into trying one of the latest trends. You will look _tellement magnifique_!" Melody then sighed.

"You know that I'm not into that kind of stuff. How do you handle on being this, 'girly'?" Alicia pouted,

"Cause I AM a girl. You are too." Melody merely smiled before the best friends laughed to themselves.

Their attention was soon taken by the crowd that had gather in front of a supermarket with police cars and an ambulance involved. Wondering what the commotion was about, the girls joined the crowd and pushed their way to the front of it. What they saw when they got there gave they a shock as they watched a Poliwrath being carried away in a stretcher, carried by paramedics. The injuries on him were pretty amazing, bruises all over, cuts as well, and a deep fist imprint right in the skull, in the middle of his eyes. Alicia was the first to spoke up.

"What do you think happened to that guy?" Melody shrugged.

"Maybe the cops did all of that. From the looks of him, he was a robber."

"No way, you're kidding?!" They heard a voice softy speaking behind them. Apparently, a Heliolisk, in a black jacket and black trousers, and a Heatmor, in a white shirt and green pants, were talking to each other. The Heatmor then spoke up.

"It true, apparently, that Poliwrath gotten all beaten up from a bystander before the cops arrived. He moved so fast like, in a flash."

"Who was the guy who did all of _that_ to him?" The Heliolisk asked."

"It sounded like it was a Pikachu, I heard from the cops talking that he just did one punch, one _mean p_ unch, and sent that robber flying into the wall." The Heatmor said.

"WHAT, UNREAL?!" The Heliolisk shouted quietly. The two girls looked at each other before leaving the crowd.

* * *

The girls shortly arrived at their desired destination, a big, round; glass building that had a huge sign saying, Super Square Malls. The place had a lot of shops, restaurants and entertainment places like, movie theaters and game arcades. It's the biggest mall in Zircona City. The girls were currently in a women's clothing store, looking over jewel accessories. Alicia was trying out different necklaces while Melody was watching her bestie awe at her choices. Alicia was currently trying out a red stoned necklace.

"OH, this looks _fringant_! What do you think?" She asked Melody.

"Eh, looks nice on you." The rabbit shrugged. The ballerina slyly narrowed her eyes at her before saying,

"Hmm, maybe it will better on you. Once we add a few bracelets, a really beautiful dress, perhaps some eyeliner, and-" Melody quickly cut her off by saying,

"WHOA, WHOA, HANG ON! Let's not get carried away! There's no way I'm wearing any make up!" Alicia just laughed while Melody sighed. They soon heard somebody laughing nearby, and look passed the accessory stand to see a Nidoqueen, in a pink dress, and a Medicham, in a grey sweater and jeans, talking amongst themselves. The Nidoqueen then spoke up.

"Oh yes, my son is right now at the music school where that young, darling instructor teaches. Oh, he is such a nice boy." The Medicham then laughed before saying,

"Oh yes, my son also goes to that school because he wanted to be taught by a fun teacher, he says. He just couldn't hold still when he talks about how his music teacher teaches him the piano, as well as entertain him by playing songs on his piano."

"Oh, did you know that same music teacher also has been helping elder Pokémon walk their way home and that he helped a little boy find his missing pet Purrloin?" The Nidoqueen asked.

"Oh yes I did, and did you know that he once stopped a fight between some rowdy skaters and even gotten them to be friendly with each other? Oh my gosh, he is such a nice Oshawott." The Medicham added. The two mothers started laughing again while Melody and Alicia watched and listened to their conversation before leaving the store.

* * *

It was becoming evening and the sun had begun to set. After their day of shopping, the two girls were walking down the street of their neighborhood, talking about their day. Apparently, Alicia failed at her attempt to persuade Melody into having a passion for fashion and didn't got to buy her any dress or anything related to 'girly' stuff, as Melody put it. As they were walking, Alicia remembered something and asked,

""Hey Melody, do you remember that we still have to find new members?" Melody looked to her before saying,

"Oh yes, well, I haven't found a way to draw in more of other's attention to join us yet. But it's nothing to worry about just yet." Alicia looked down before facing her again saying,

"Well we could try asking that Pikachu from earlier to join? He sounds just as strong as you." Melody then laughed a little at that before saying,

"Oh please, like anyone else is as strong as me. Also, we don't know if this 'strong' Pikachu even goes to our school."

"Oh…" Alicia looked down for not thinking of what her best friend said at the end. The two soon arrived at a fork in the road; Alicia turned to Melody then said,

"Well, I guess I'll see you at the school in a while. Hope we can find a solution soon by then." Melody turned to the Kirlia.

"Yeah, will do. See you soon Alicia." She said as she and Alicia went down different roads towards their respective homes.

While Melody was hopping her way home, she began to wonder about what she and Alicia had been hearing about the strong Pikachu and the gentle, kind Oshawott. For some time now, there have been rumors going around, about some strange, odd Pokémon that had appeared in the city at about a year ago. A Flaaffy who wears a snow jacket, despite being summer right now, a Charmeleon who carries lot of computers with him, a Snivy who strangely wears a sailor suit, a weirdly colored Riolu, and a Fennekin who wears a white gown. They have been getting really known in the city, but not many actually got to meet them in person. She first thought about how these odd strangers had been going around the city without being discreet of themselves, but quickly shook it off as she herself had quite a reputation of her own.

All of the sudden, multiple shadowy figures quickly charged at her in all direction. Just as they were about to make contact, Melody suddenly vanished. The attackers stopped to look up to see her in mid-air, arms stretched out indicating that she quickly jumped before being pounced on. When the springing rabbit landed, she took a look to see that her attackers were some of the streets thugs of the city. But not just any street thugs, the same gang that she just beaten up this morning. One of the thugs, a Krookodile in a black, torn vest and pants, stepped up and said,

"You're in for a world of hurt, young missy. For messing with our crew, we expect a wail full of cries after we beat the living shit out of ya." Melody merely sighed before saying,

"I don't have for your shit. Just get out of my face or I will just play a repeat of this morning." The Krookodile growled before saying,

"Oh yeah? Well, you won't be saying that, for after we're done with you, your friends, family, and all of those who are close to you will be getting the same beating from us." All the other gang members started laughing and snickering in an evil manner. However, Melody just looked down with her eyes shadowed. She stayed silent for a moment before muttering,

"…Now you've done it." With that said, she quickly used Bounced to launch herself into the air, and then came down onto the Krookodile using Jump Kick. Krookodile fell back unconscious and Melody used Bounce to jump off and used Jump Kick on the other thugs. A Scrafty came up behind her to swing down a cub on her but she uncurled her ear and delivered a Drain Punch to the chin. An Escavalier tried to stab her but she pulled her foot up and used Jump Kick, knocking him into the air. She then used Bounce and landed on a Golett and Tyrunt. She did a round house Jump Kick into the jaw of a Machoke, and back flipped above an Ursaring, drumming his head with a series of Drain Punch. She used Bounce as she land and kicked a Mightyena and did a double Drain Punch on a Rhyperior. She then squat down low before launching herself with Bounce into every reminding thug with Jump Kick, bouncing off each one onto another at blurring speed. She then bounced up and landed as all the thugs fall onto the ground with major injuries. Melody panted a bit before hopping away towards home.

* * *

Melody soon arrived at her home, a simple white house with a red roof, three windows, one at the top and two at the bottom, with little wall surrounding it. She hopped over the gate and went up to her door. She took out her keys and unlocked the front door before entering. She called through the hallway.

"Mum, I'm home!" She heard a voice from the kitchen.

"Welcome home, dear." She smiled when she heard her mother's voice and then bounced into the living room, up to a counter with a picture frame on it.

"I'm home, dad." She said to it. The bunny then bounced up the stairs and opened the door to her bedroom. Her room was nothing but pink walls, a bed with a window at the side and a desk with stationary on it. She sat down at her desk and opened a drawer which revealed a blue book with a pen attached to the spine. She took it out and laid it on her desk before opening it to a blank page. She took out the pen and began writing her thoughts down.

" _Today had really interesting things to offer. I heard today that there is a strong Pikachu who can send a robber to the hospital with one punch, and there is a kind-hearted music teacher who loves to help others .Hearing about them today had got me thinking about the strange new Pokémon that had appeared in my town. I was never really interested in them before, but hearing about this strong Pikachu had actually got my attention on them. If this Pikachu is as strong I heard, then I wish to show him that there is no one else that is stronger than me. Though, that Pikachu might be a great addition to the team. And meeting these odd Pokémon could be interesting. I would like to ask them who are they and where'd they came from, if that's okay. Hopefully I will get to see them one of these days."_

" _Love, Melody Decade"_

"Melody! Dinner's ready!" Her mum called.

"Okay, mum!" She closed her book and left her bedroom. On the desk, was the book that revealed it had a gold-plate on the front that had something inscribed on. It said 'Melody's Diary'.


End file.
